Final answer:
The Embargo Act of 1807 severely impacted American commerce, led to high unemployment and bankruptcies, and stimulated the shift from mercantile trade to manufacturing. Despite the hardships, it indirectly hastened the growth of American industrial power.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Embargo Act of 1807 had several significant consequences. Its objective was to leverage economic power and coerce Britain and France to end their seizures at sea. However, it was primarily American commerce that bore the brunt of the impact. The embargo hurt American farmers who were denied access to overseas markets for their produce, causing a massive increase in unemployment rates and bankruptcies in seaport cities.
Business activities in America declined by about 75% between 1808 to 1809. The enforcement of the embargo was tough, especially in the states bordering British Canada, leading to widespread smuggling. The Act also played a role in spurring industrial development in the United States. This was because the embargo and the following War of 1812 strained American merchants' profits, thereby leading some, like Francis Cabot Lowell, to shift their focus to manufacturing, which eventually fostered the growth of American industrial power.
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